1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tie down anchor that is secured to the tailgate of a pickup truck and allows a securement strap to be attached thereto.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Securing a load within a pickup truck can prove to be very tricky with some cargoes. The cargo is placed within the bed of the pickup truck and is secured thereto by passing a tie down cord around the cargo and securing the cord to various tie down hooks that are positioned along the sides of the pickup truck bed. This arrangement works satisfactorily for many types of cargo but is often insufficient for many types of items to be transported by the pickup truck. Items that are large and bulky, items that have a large surface area that tends to rise with increased air encounter, and oddly shaped items all pose problems in transporting such items by a pickup truck using standard tie down methods.
In order to effectively tie down and transport such difficult items, it is necessary to secure the cargo to the pickup truck at points other than along the sides of the pickup truck bed. Specifically, it is desirable to secure the cargo to one or more points along the tailgate of the pickup truck which gives multiple axis of securement of the cargo and gives a superior tie down arrangement.
Most pickup truck tail gates lack a tie down hook or other appropriate attachment point, making the securement of the cargo thereto difficult. In order to address this lack of securement hooks along the tailgate, devices have be proposed that provide the necessary tie down anchor that allow the cargo to be secured to points along the tailgate. Unfortunately, the prior art devices that provide a tie down anchor along the tailgate suffer from one or more drawbacks.
Many devices are complex in design and use making these devices cost prohibitive and relatively unattractive to buy and use. Other devices are pickup truck model specific, thereby lacking the desired universality of use expected of such devices. Still other devices require a permanent alteration to the pickup truck which many owners are unwilling to make.
Therefore, there exists a needs in the art for a tie down anchor that is securable to the tailgate of a pickup truck in order to allow securement of a cargo to a point along the tailgate of the pickup truck which overcomes the above-stated drawbacks in the art. Specifically, the tie down anchor must be relative simple in design and construction so that the anchor is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and does not deter usage because of design complexity. The tie down anchor must have near universal usage ability so that the device can be used on a wide variety of pickup truck tailgates. The tie down anchor should not require for a permanent alteration to be made to the pickup truck for tie down anchor usage.
The tie down anchor of the present invention addresses the aforementioned needs in the art. The tie down anchor is securable to the tailgate of a pickup truck and allows securement of a cargo to the tailgate of the pickup truck. The tie down anchor of the present invention is of relatively simple design and construction making the anchor relatively inexpensive to manufacture and the anchor does not deter usage by design complexity. The tie down anchor posses near universal usage ability so that the device can be used on a wide variety of pickup truck tailgates. The tie down anchor does not require a permanent alteration to be made to the pickup truck for tie down anchor usage.
The tie down anchor of the present invention is comprised of a plate member having a first face and a second face. A first opening is disposed within the plate member while a pair of channel members extend outwardly from the first face of the plate member in generally parallel fashion, each channel member having a pair of second openings disposed therein. A leg member has a first section disposed on a first plane, the leg member being slidably disposed within the pair of channels and has a second section disposed on a second plane that is different from the first plane. A pair of studs are provided such that each stud is received within one of the second openings and engages the first portion of the leg member for securement of the leg member within the pair of channels. A third opening may be disposed within the plate member between the pair of channel members while a strap passes through the third opening and encompasses the tailgate of the pickup truck. A first non-skuff material is secured to the first face of the plate member while a second non-skuff material secured to the second section of the leg member. The leg member may have a third section disposed on a third plane that is different than the first plane and is different than the second plane such that the second section connects the first section with the third section. A third non-skuff material may be secured to the third section of the leg member. The first face of the plate member abuts the inner face of the tailgate of the pickup truck, the pair of channel members abut the top face of the tailgate, and the second section or the third section of the leg member abuts the outer face of the tailgate.